I am a veteran and served during the Vietnam War. Fortunately my talent and aptitude were better served in Turkey than in Vietnam. Turkey got me closer to the Soviet Union which was necessary then since I was a trained Russian linguist and monitoring Soviet Military communications was my contribution to the Cold War.
It is beyond my comprehension that the current President is willing to side with Russia over Ukraine and try and create an alternate universe where Ukraine is the villain that started the conflict. The current President says that he wants peace, but his solution is to ambush President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and extort Ukraine’s rare minerals in exchange for vital intelligence and munitions. But since President Zelenskyy didn’t say “thank you” nor kiss the ring he was asked to leave without any kind of a deal. Is this Trump being “tough” or just being himself, a bully? The answer is obvious but unfortunately not to everyone. The usual response is “why are we spending so much to arm Ukraine?” There are many reasons why but perhaps the most poignant one is that Ukraine is fighting a war so that our sons, daughters and grandchildren don’t have to. Veterans, especially those who fought the Cold War should be outraged that a known enemy to our democracy is gleeful and realizes that the Russian narrative has been adopted by an American President.
Trump is willing to throw Ukraine under the bus but he wants to do the same to our veterans. The cuts to the Veterans Administration put those who sacrificed much out of touch with the benefits they so desperately need. I guess “suckers and losers” don’t deserve our compassion or respect. In fact, if Trump would get his request for a military parade he would restrict the participation of wounded soldiers. It would be too “embarrassing” to this nation. Pretty sad coming from someone who escaped military service by claiming that bone spurs kept him on the sidelines. Interesting that spending $18 million of taxpayer’s money on golf just this year doesn’t make his bones hurt. I know his actions make my soul hurt.
My older brother, a Coast Guard veteran, passed away this past October ironically on my birthday. My Dad was a veteran of the Army Air Corps, my uncle Stanley was a submariner in the Pacific theater and my uncle John, my namesake, was awarded the Silver Star for courage in the Battle of the Bulge. Although I miss all of them terribly. I’m glad that they are not here to witness this travesty and abuse of power by the “KING.”
John Riley,
Galena
0 Responses
Well said and thank you John.
Were you ASA?
Thank you for your heartfelt letter. All veterans, especially those who lost their lives or who suffered in mind or body deserve our thanks and support.
Speaking as a veteran as well as a liberal Democrat, 7 million of us Dems who voted in 2020 for Joe Biden failed in 20924 to vote for Kamala Harris.
In the military, this would be considered going AWOL.
Let me also point out that the American body politic sufvived an initial Trump regime, which included two impeachments and an attack on the Capitol and was quickly adjudged the worst in our nation’s history by various historians.
Once burned, twice shy.
Whether pro-Trump or con-Trump, we all knew what to expect if Trump was elected again.
But, “we never thought Trump would eat our faces,” sobbed those who voted for the Trump Eating People’s Faces Party. There’s a sucker born every minute.
Thanks John. It is tragic that our president, who demands loyalty, apparently still fails to understand what it means to be loyal to others.
Thanks Lansing I was assigned to the United States Air Force Security Service. Served 18 months at KCDI, Karamursel common Defense Installation and subsequently to NSA.
Great article. I agree with every word. It’s becoming more and more obvious, even to Trump’s supporters that he doesn’t care about other people, only himself.
Thank you for speaking up and saying what many of us think.
I served a three-year enlistment in the US Army from 1959 to 1962. It was pre-Vietnam so I was never shot at or had to shoot at anybody. When I saw Trump say that John McCain was a “loser” because he was captured, and called other soldiers “suckers” and “losers” because they were killed or wounded, that immediately disqualified him, in my mind, for any leadership position in America.
In these times of Trumpian idiocy it’s reassuring to know that there are many people who have not gone insane or fallen under the spell of the worst president (and one of the worst human beings) I have seen in my 86 years. Maybe I shouldn’t speak so harshly of a mentally-ill person, but sometimes I’m triggered to vent my feelings.
Thanks for your letter, John.
As a fellow veteran and Russian linguist serving during the Cold War I can’t agree more. Putin would like nothing more than see democracy fail and it seems he has found the tool to make it happen.